Many passenger seats, such as those on passenger aircrafts, buses, trains, and the like, are arranged so that each passenger seat, other than the forward-most located passenger seats, faces the back of the next forward passenger seat. To increase a passenger's comfort and enjoyment, many passenger seat backs are utilized to install amenities, such as a tray table, for the passenger's use during the trip.
In some instances, a tray table may be mounted adjacent a surface of a passenger seat back. The tray table may be deployed by the passenger to provide a relatively flat surface for eating, working, recreation, or other uses. Conventionally, these tray tables are mounted to an exterior surface of the seat back. These tray tables generally rotate away from the seat back via tray table arms, which are pivoted at a point on the passenger seat below the tray table, for use by the passenger. Known trays tables are generally limited to only one utility position, however. Moreover, at various times these tray tables may be stowed against the seat back. In this position, the utility of known tray tables is limited.
Thus, given that the features available to a passenger during use of a passenger seat are limited by the small space surrounding the passenger seat, it may be beneficial to maximize the functions of each structure surrounding the passenger, including the tray table, to increase the potential features of the passenger seat.